Anyone who lives in Japan here?

[Ladyanne3]

I'm trying to find out more on the nation, it's people and what kind of governmental bullshit do they have to deal with on a daily basis?

I've looked at all the usual online sources but I want information from actual people.

[lustrous]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I personally find Wikipedia to be a valuable resource for information on Japan.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Japan

[CaptButler]

BION, many years ago, I was a contributor on Weakipedia.  I would not use Weakipedia even to settle a bar bet.

[Ladyanne3]

BION, many years ago, I was a contributor on Weakipedia.  I would not use Weakipedia even to settle a bar bet.

I'm guessing that wikipedia is considered UN-usual online source and not a usual one.

Nevertheless,
I would go to my local library to look for information but it's kind of like a combination of Starbucks and a 1990s Block Buster. (I shouldn't know what a Block Buster is but I do.)

Cook books, self-help books, DVDs and a cop drinking coffee.    Even their monthly newsletter is a big disappointment because it's one run-on sentence which fills the entire page.

[lustrous]

Anyway, I highly doubt you will come across any Japanese users in this forum. It's likely that they have their own dedicated piracy forum in Japan, similar to how they have their own version of 4chan.

[dueda]

Well, I exist in Japan, can't tell about living.
Gaijin (barbaric foreigner) working graveyard shift on an auto parts sweatshop factory, two free days a week (when I do groceries and try to sleep), earning less than US $10 per hour. And I don't speak the local language, while 99% of the natives don't speak anything but one of a dozen japanese dialects or the more-or-less standard official language.

[Ladyanne3]

Well, I exist in Japan, can't tell about living.
Gaijin (barbaric foreigner) working graveyard shift on an auto parts sweatshop factory, two free days a week (when I do groceries and try to sleep), earning less than US $10 per hour. And I don't speak the local language, while 99% of the natives don't speak anything but one of a dozen japanese dialects or the more-or-less standard official language.

I've put in an offer on a home in Japan.  It's too cheap for me to pass up !  So, I'm on Duolingo learning the language

[dueda]

I've put in an offer on a home in Japan.  It's too cheap for me to pass up !  So, I'm on Duolingo learning the language

Duolingo? If I remember correctly, that's way too old method and way old Japanese, many locals don't understand the phrases it teaches as daily conversation, like "whats your name?". Or maybe it was another app, or it changed (a lot) more recently.

Ex: Anata no o namae too moshi masu? = Namae ka?
It's like "May I have your name?" when people more often say "Name?"

What a video documentary about abandoned houses in Japan by NHK, they're cheaper than dirt, many are FREE with official prefecture issued deed, but there're many catches that may cost you a LOT.

A retired American teacher bought a big estate and it came with everything inside, including three authentic samurai swords, full size, sharp as razors. She naively put them in a bag and drove to the police station to ask what to do with those, just to be arrested for illegal weapon carry, entering a government building with a lethal weapon, possession of unregistered weaponry, possession of undeclared origin antiques, and a dozen other charges. But after a couple hours of heated interrogation, she left cleared of legal problems under condition of hiring a certified swords specialist to appraise the weapons and then, if not cultural or historic valuables, surrender them for destruction; if so, then she had to pay for review, appraisal, restoration, build a proper safe in the house, submit for police interrogation, inspection, psychiatric evaluation, aquire a weapon license, etc...

Not to mention a traditional house in japan costs a small fortune to restore, because they're made of old wood with old craftsmanship. And you cna't just do it yourself. And... Well, just check all due taxes and hidden costs before you sign a letter of intent on the purchase. Because breaking the promise may cost you more than the house itself.

[Ladyanne3]

I've put in an offer on a home in Japan.  It's too cheap for me to pass up !  So, I'm on Duolingo learning the language

Duolingo? If I remember correctly, that's way too old method and way old Japanese, many locals don't understand the phrases it teaches as daily conversation, like "whats your name?". Or maybe it was another app, or it changed (a lot) more recently.

Ex: Anata no o namae too moshi masu? = Namae ka?
It's like "May I have your name?" when people more often say "Name?"

What a video documentary about abandoned houses in Japan by NHK, they're cheaper than dirt, many are FREE with official prefecture issued deed, but there're many catches that may cost you a LOT.

A retired American teacher bought a big estate and it came with everything inside, including three authentic samurai swords, full size, sharp as razors. She naively put them in a bag and drove to the police station to ask what to do with those, just to be arrested for illegal weapon carry, entering a government building with a lethal weapon, possession of unregistered weaponry, possession of undeclared origin antiques, and a dozen other charges. But after a couple hours of heated interrogation, she left cleared of legal problems under condition of hiring a certified swords specialist to appraise the weapons and then, if not cultural or historic valuables, surrender them for destruction; if so, then she had to pay for review, appraisal, restoration, build a proper safe in the house, submit for police interrogation, inspection, psychiatric evaluation, aquire a weapon license, etc...

Not to mention a traditional house in japan costs a small fortune to restore, because they're made of old wood with old craftsmanship. And you cna't just do it yourself. And... Well, just check all due taxes and hidden costs before you sign a letter of intent on the purchase. Because breaking the promise may cost you more than the house itself.

I've heard all the horror stories and I'm being careful.

[CaptButler]

I've heard all the horror stories and I'm being careful.

Good thing that.  Many years ago, I had a client who purchased a block of 40 city lots at a tax sale for less than $1,000.  He thought he had made the deal of the century until he rolled up on the property weeks later to find that the lots were covered by an industrial slag heap about 20 feet tall.  When realty is put on the market for a fire sale price, it is nearly always because there really was a fire--or something more horrific.  Tsunamis, earthquakes, landslips, radiation, industrial pollution, feral hogs, puffer fish and crazy neighbors shooting missiles at you--Japan has it all.  Of course, a really low price could simply be a product of its remoteness--but that's only if you're lucky.